Three fighters absolutely blew their weigh-ins for UFC Shanghai, and it’s a total gut punch when you see pros miss the mark. The official weigh-ins went down Thursday in China, setting the stage for what should be a massive fight night at Shanghai Indoor Stadium. This event marks the promotion’s third visit to the city, but you hope they wouldn’t bring this kind of drama.
Big Names, Big Fights, and the Scale
The headliner is a massive bantamweight clash between No. 2 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov and No. 6 ranked Song Yadong. These are two top guys, so you want to see them on their game. Nurmagomedov hit the scales first, looking sharp and officially weighing in at 135.5 pounds. Yadong came in just a touch heavier, hitting 136 pounds. Both locked in their main event status, which is exactly what you want from your headliners. It’s a relief to see the biggest fight of the night avoid any weigh-in drama, especially with those rankings on the line.
Dropping the Ball on the Scales
But then you get to the ugly stuff. Three fighters completely failed to make weight, and that’s just unacceptable at this level. Flyweight Andre Lima weighed in one full pound above the 126-pound flyweight limit, clocking in at 127 pounds. That’s a rookie mistake right there, and it cost him. Lima was fined 20% of her fight purse, which stings but doesn’t change the fact she missed her mark. Then we had the women’s flyweights, Xiong Jingnan and Julia Polastri, both stepping on the scales heavy for their 126-pound fight. Xiong missed by a pound, hitting 117 pounds, and Polastri was way off, clocking in at 118.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the limit. Seriously, what gives? It takes a bit of the shine off the entire fight, even if all three fights are still proceeding as planned. You train for months, you diet, you sacrifice, and then you miss weight. It’s a tough pill to swallow for the fans and for the fighters who did make weight.
The Full Card is Set, Despite the Drama
Despite the weigh-in struggles from a few, the rest of the card is officially locked and loaded. On the main card, Denise Gomes came in at 115 pounds, facing Yan Xiaonan who hit 115.5 pounds. Kai Asakura and Aori Qileng both hit 135.5 pounds for their bantamweight clash, looking ready. Su Mudaerji weighed 125 pounds, while Alex Perez was 126 pounds. Ce Liu and Levi Rodrigues Jr. both came in at 206 pounds for their light heavyweight scrap. Bilal Hasan and Nilson Rojas both nailed 124.5 pounds. The preliminary card has Namsrai Batbayar at 126 pounds against the heavy Andre Lima. Kevin Borjas and Rei Tsuruya were good to go at 126 and 125 pounds. Jack Jenkins and Sean Woodson both hit 145 pounds. Xiao Long came in at 135 pounds against Francesco Nuzzi’s 136 pounds. Lawrence Lui and Hector Santiago were on point at 135.5 and 135 pounds. Finally, Meng Ding and Cam Nelson were perfect at 170 pounds. It’s a stacked day of fights ready to go down in Shanghai!
Catch the main card live starting at 6 a.m. ET, with the preliminary card kicking off even earlier at 3 a.m. ET. Let’s hope the fights themselves make us forget about those weigh-in woes and bring the thunder!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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